Building your dream garage

Time to have your own (wo)man cave and don’t have the space in your home? Jason Matthews from Griot’s Garage gives Pete some recommendations about building your own space in your garage.

Jason first recommends finding the scope of what you want to do with your garage. Are you going to be working on your car? Do you want it to be a man-cave with couches and chairs?

Depending on your needs, flooring should be your first consideration. Epoxy finishes give you greater flexibility if you’re planning on working on your vehicle. They’re 100 percent oil and stain resistant, and come with a variety of finishes. If you’re looking for more of a showroom finish, you can opt to have an epoxy with a sheen or flecks that give it a quartz or marble look. Beware, says Jason, because if you drop a screw or nut on the floor, it blends into the finish and becomes impossible to find.

You can also do a polish on your concrete as a finish, which involves buffing the concrete to its agate underneath, then staining the surface and polishing it to a sheen. “It looks just like a granite or marble countertop,” says Jason, and holds up to oil and stains very well.

To make your garage as welcoming as possible, Jason recommends installing white fluorescent lights that mimic daylight; Pete adds that it will help the dim environment we Pacific Northwesters deal with most of the year.

When looking for organization, Jason says you should consider both custom and stock cabinetry. Custom cabinets allow you to design your space to your specific needs. Other solutions such as standard, rolling tool chests can help you save space and allow you the ability to reorganize and restructure without limiting it to permanence.

Other solutions, like overhead tire or bike racks, allow you to keep non-essentials off of the floor and save space in your work area.

If you’re looking for specific products for cleaning and taking care of your vehicle, Pete recommends checking out Griot Garage for their great, tested selection of products.